Brandon Starc ready to make his mark in men's high jump at Glasgow Commonwealth Games

High jumper Brandon Starc is confident his greater exposure to competing at the international level will hold him in good stead at this month's Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Starc made his senior international debut at last year's world championships in Moscow and it proved to be a tough initiation for the Sydney-based athlete.

The then 19-year-old, the younger brother of Test cricketer Mitchell Starc, produced a best jump of 2.17 metres but did not progress past the qualifying round, admitting nerves got the better of him in the Russian capital.

Starc, though, benefited from the experience and this was illustrated when he posted a season's best of 2.25m at last May's IAAF World Challenge meet in Tokyo to finish fifth behind world champion Bohdan Bondarenko and Olympic gold medallist Ivan Ukhov.

He feels the Commonwealth Games will be another opportunity to show he belongs on the international stage following his baptism of fire in Moscow.

"I was very, very nervous last year, I don't think that helped with my competition," Starc told Grandstand.

"But I think with that experience I can prepare a little bit better this time around and I can be a little bit more confident with the competition. It definitely helped last year."

Starc relished the chance to compete in Tokyo alongside the likes of Bondarenko and Ukhov, who have been at the forefront of the high jump's rise to becoming track and field's boom event in 2014.

The Ukrainian Bondarenko (2.42m) and Russian Ukhov (2.41m) are among five athletes that have cleared the revered 2.40m mark this year and it is widely believed that Javier Sotomayor's world record of 2.45m - which has stood since 1993 - is on borrowed time.

The only down side for Starc competing in Tokyo was he sustained a bruised heel, forcing him and coach Alex Stewart to make "slight modifications" to their training program.

Anything can happen (in Glasgow), someone can have an off day and not jump what they could.

Brandon Starc

But the injury did little to alter his focus from Glasgow and he has instead concentrated on the positives that came from competing in Japan against some of the best high jumpers the event has even seen.

"I know they're (Bondarenko and Ukhov) not going to be there but it gives me confidence I can compete with the world's best and I can be up there with them," Starc said.

"So, I think I can put that towards my competition in Glasgow and hopefully produce something good."

While Bondarenko and Ukhov will not be contesting the Commonwealth Games, Olympic and world championships bronze medallist Derek Drouin is set to make the trip to Glasgow.

Drouin was named in Canada's squad last month and has enjoyed a stellar 2014 season so far, having recorded a personal best of 2.40m at the Drake Relays in Des Moines last April.

A sign of Starc's growing maturity at the international level is the fact he is not overawed by the prospect of facing Drouin, who headlines a solid line-up of world-class high jumpers that have indicated they will compete in Glasgow.

"As well as him there are a lot of guys who can jump over 2.30 but ... it all comes down to performing in the day," said Starc, who produced a PB of 2.28m to win the 2013 national title in Sydney.

"Anything can happen, someone can have an off day and not jump what they could. So I'm just going to worry about myself, just do what I do best and jump and not worry about them."

Starc excited about Australia's high jump depth

Starc will be joined in Glasgow by current national champion Nik Bojic, who has shown as much promise as his Australian team-mate during the infancy of his senior career.

The 22-year-old Bojic also has a PB of 2.28m, which he registered to finish fourth at last year's World University Games in Kazan, and he booked his spot on the plane to Glasgow with his win at April's national titles in Melbourne.

The men's high jump proved to be among the most hotly contested events during the Australian domestic season with Starc and Bojic offered stiff competition from Chris Dodd, who managed wins at the Hunter Track Classic and the Perth Track Classic, where he jumped 2.23m.

Joel Baden, 18, has also underlined his potential with a PB of 2.20m in Brisbane last month, giving hope Australia will develop similar depth to what it enjoyed in the early to mid 1990s, when Tim Forsyth, David Anderson, Lochsley Thomson and Jagan Hames were all 2.30m-plus jumpers.

Starc is excited about Australia's stocks in the high jump, outlining the importance of improved competition on the domestic front.

"In previous years it (competition) hasn't been quite of that quality ... but to have them in the domestic season it really pushed each of us to jump higher," he said.

"I'm really good friends with all of them and I'm happy they jumped quite well. I'm happy there is another high jumper going away with me."

Starc completed his Australia-based preparations for Glasgow with a win at the Down Under meet on the Gold Coast last weekend via a clearance of 2.16m, while Bojic was second with 2.12m.